Brief Course in Mediumship

k

3rA

(bpigMi

Nihil

Obstat

Co

n

_^

Praemonstrator

The Societas Rosicruciana in

America

{Society of Rosicrucians, 7/i.)

does not

seek

members.

Men

and

Women

of Desire, however,

who

are in Search of

More

Light,

may

Find

a

Way

by addressing the Secretary-General, S.\R.'.I.\A.\

Care

of

Mr.

S. B. Robertson

A

Brief

Course

in

Mediumship

By

tLKHEI

f.r.

ST

c, o°-x°

Being

a

Series

of

In-structions

given

to

Neophytes

of

Metro-politan College,

S

.\

R.

'./.

_\A.

_\

_and

_now

done

in

t

o

print

by

permission

of

the

Brotherhood.

COPYRIGHTED 1916, BYTHE

MACOY

PUBLISHING

and

MASONIC

SUPPLY

Co. . .

New York

City

TP7

FO<RE

WORD

This Course of

Study

in

Mediumship,

while Thoroty

Scientific in Character, is not by

any

means

exhaustive

in its treatment ofthe subject.

It is a Simple, Concise

and

Logical Classification

and

Explanation of the Various

Phases

of so-called

Phenomena,

and

points out the

manner

by

which

the

Reader

can best Develop his or her

own

inherent

Psychic Powers.

till

DEC

!8 1916

A

Brief

Course

IN

MEDIUMSHIP

ACCORDING

TO THE ROSICRUCIAN PHILOSOPHY

CHAPTER

ONE

PSYCHOMETRY.

INTERCOMMUNICATION

between

the physical

and

spiritual worlds is not taught as a part of the RosicrucianArt.

It is

assumed

as a prerequisite for

fel-lowship in the Order. Nevertheless, as not every one

who

applies for such

membership happens

to be a developed psychic, it is the purpose of the following pages to give an idea of the status of so-called

mediumship

from

the Rosicrucian standpoint.

Mediumship,

asa

means

of livelihood ispositively

dis-countenanced

by

the Society. Carried to its highest de-velopment,

and

utilizedas the

means

ofgaining spiritual

knowledge

and

information it is esteemed,

and

every

frater isexpected to develop

some

phase

which

may

be

utilized inthe furtherance of the

work

of the Fraternity. Rosicrucians distinguish

between

two

kinds of

me-diumship,

CONSCIOUS

or

VOLUNTARY,

and

4

A

BRIEF

COURSE

IN

The

first

form

of

mediumship

is

ACTIVE,

the second

form

PASSIVE.

Conscious

mediumship

is the result of a

development

which

consists in cultivating a higher molecular

and

atomic vibration

and

the training of the soul

powers

to a

much

higher state of efficiency than that to

which

one

is ordinarily accustomed.

Unconscious mediumship

applies to the

phenomena

re-sultant

upon

a degree of hypersensitivity

which

may

have been

one's latent property

from

birth, or acquired atalater date. This

form

of

mediumship

always remains passive,

and

affords only a limited scope of observation to its possessor, a scope

which

may

be likened to the limited

view one

obtains

when

looking out

between

the shutters of a blind.

Conscious

mediumship

permits the psychic to function where,

when, and

to

whatsoever

extent he will, the ob-servation gained being valuable according to the

powers

of accurate description possest

by

the psychic.

Mediumship

is

comprehended under two broad

divi-PHYSICAL

AND

SPIRITUAL

Under

Physical

mediumship

we

include

Telekinesis

—

moving

of solid objects,withor with-out contact.

Concussion

—

so-called rappings,

which

may

be

on

tables, walls, furniture, or even the papers heldin one's hand.

Visualization

—

or so-called materialization. Materi-alizationinitspopularly accepted

def-inition has never been demonstrated satisfactorily

and

does not coincide with

any

known

laws of

Nature

in

the realm ofMatter.

Unclassified

—

such as thehandling ofred-hot coals,

lamp

chimneys, etc.

Levitation

—

or the suspension of animate or

in-animateobjects.

Under

Physical

and

Spiritual

mediumship

we

include

Magnetic Healing

in itsvarious forms.

All these classifications are dependent

upon

the use of

the

medium's

physical substance in connection with

OD

FORCE

for their manifestations.

Under-

Spiritual

Mediumship

we

include

Clairvoyance

—

or clear seeing, either close at

hand

oratremotedistances,purely

by

men-tal effort, the exercise of the

devel-oped

spiritual

powers

of one'shigher vehicles, or

by

the assistance of

CRYSTALLOMANCY,

HYPNOTISM

OR

SOM-NAMBULISM.

Clairvoyance

may

apply equally to

events past, present or future,

when

one

considers that

beyond

the physical planes of being the first

and

last

of those states

do

not exist, all constituting the ever present

NOW.

When

applied to so-called future events, such

clair-voyance is said to be an

example

of

PRESCIENCE.

Clairvoyance applies not only to states

and

conditions

on

the physical

and

spiritual planes,

—

it also extends to

6

A

BRIEF

COURSE

IN

spirits

—

who

are closeenufto the physical planeto

come

partially in rapport with the conditions peculiar to that plane.

CLAIRAUDIENCE

—

or clear hearing, is a

word

like

clairvoyance, adapted

from

the French.

Its phases

and

properties are analogous to those of Clairvoyance,exceptthattheyapplyto the

phenomena

of audition,

and

while they

may

bring to the psychic the sensation of soundsof amaterialnature,these properties usually manifest inthe

form

of

communications

purport-ingto

come

from

discarnateintelligences.

Itshould benoted,however,thatthe

medium

positively does not hear spirits,

Sound,

as

we

understand it in

physical science,isinoperative

on

spiritualplanes.

Music

for instance is

FELT

and

SEEN

thru a sensation of vibration

which

is far

more

sensuousto the spiritthanto our inhibited states of audition

on

the physical plane.

There

is

no

audiblespeechinthe spiritualworld.

Com-munication is

from

Mind

to

Mind,

by

the act of Will. One's thots are just as safe

from

perception

and under

one's

command

as tho they

were

expresst only

by

the spoken word, but they

go

forth,

and

are received solely

by

act ofWill.

TRANCE

—

is developed both as Conscious

and Unconscious

states.

In either state, the

medium

surrenders the voluntary control of his or her

own

physical

organism

to that of theoperatingintelligence,

sometimes

known

asthe

"Con-trol" solely because that particular intelligence has suc-ceeded in

coming

sufficiently into rapport with the

me-dium

to be able to control

and

operate the

medium's

In Conscious trance, the

medium

permits this use of

his or her organism, without

however

surrendering the individual consciousness.

In

Unconscious

trance, the

medium

enters a state of absolute coma,

and

while in this condition the physical

organism

isabsolutely

under

the domination

and

control of the operating intelligence,

under

conditions

and

cir-cumstances

somewhat

analogous to the relations

between

hypnotist

and

subject

on

the physical plane.

Conscious trance is the highest

form

of mediumistic

development

altho not so desirable

from

the

phenomenal

standpoint,

inasmuch

as the

medium

is always

open

to the suspicion of co-operation with the purported

intelli-gences.

Closely allied to the state of Conscious

Trance

is

that of

INSPIRATION

—

A

psychic state in

which

the

medium

while perfectly conscious, infull pos-session of

and

able to control

and

direct all of his

own

faculties

and

functions, receives directly

from

the

World

of

Thought

suchvibrations asput

him

directlyinrapport with the avenues of

knowledge

required

by

the subject immediatelyat hand.

As

a result of

development

extended

beyond

thetrance

and

Inspiratorystatesone can accomplish

what

is

known

as

going

INTO

THE

SILENCE.—

Inthis state,the

Ego,

accom-panied

by

theAstralenvelope can function

on

other planes of being, either in associa-tion with purely discarnate intelligences or visualizing

itself to friends

on

the physical plane for purposes of

identification, and,

on

returning to the physical body, resumes its

normal

functions, retaining, however, a

com-8

A

BRIEF

COURSE

IN

plete

memory

and knowledge

ofitsastral journey.

Such

visualizations to friendsare

sometimes

called"apparitions of the living."

This concludes the category of mediumistic classifica-tions.

The phenomena

of

Thought

Transference,

Mental

Suggestion, Therapy,

Somnambulism,

Telepathy, etc.,

are purely within the

domain

of psychology

and

while they

may

simulate

mediumship under

some

circumstances they

do

not properly

come

withinitsscopeofactivity.

There

is one psychic state, however,

which

has not

been mentioned,

which

actsas a

Borderland

to

Medium-ship;

and

stands as it

were between

Mediumship

or Seership

and

Modern

Psychology,

—

PSYCHOMETRY

Properly speaking,

psychometry

pure

and

simple is

not a branch of spiritual science, being alone

due

to a higher

development

of the physical faculties, but as it

often

becomes

closely allied withclairaudience

and

clair-voyance, it

comes

within the scope ofour investigation.

It

was

firstpractised

under

the

name

of

DIVINATION

long before Dr.J. R.

Buchanan

coinedthepresent

name,

in 1842; seeking

by

a

misnomer

toattach dignity to the

science.

The

term

Psychometry

is derived

from

two

Greek

words

—

"Psyche"

(the soul)

and "Metron"

(ameasure).

Itpurportsto beasoul-measurement, but apart

from

the aid of clairvoyance

and

clairaudience it depends for its

manifestation solely

upon

the higher

development

ofour ultimate sense-perception.

MEDIUMSHIP

Mediumistic

and

Psychometric delineations are

two

entirely separate, distinct

and

dissimilar methods, altho they

may

co-operate

and

associate at

any

given time.

Mrs.

M.

E. F. Denton, one of the cleverest

psychome-trists the

world

has ever seen, says, "I

do

not

deny

that the

same

person

may

be both a

medium

and

a

psychome-ter, just as the

same

person

may

be both atalker

and

a thinker; but talking is not thinking, nor is

mediumship

psychometry."

The

medium

is dependent for the information he receives as a

medium, upon

activities

and

intelligences not only belonging to himself, but to others.

Hence

the necessity for passivity

—

that the will of the

medium

may

notintercept,norhisopinioncolor the

com-munications given thru him.

The

Psychometer,

on

the contrary, for any infor-mation he

may

be able to gain,

must

depend

wholly

upon

his

own

powers

of recognition, of comprehension, of discrimination

—

largely

upon

his

own

judgment

—

as

to

whether

heis

mixing

scenes,characters,

and

conditions, or holding

them

severally distinct

and

true to their

own

belongings (inaword,

upon

his

own

intelligence in deal-ingwith the materials athisdisposal).

Hence,

as apsychometer, itis impossible for

him

tobe a passive recipient of information

from an

outside

intel-ligence.

And

hence, also, the necessity for

him

to be well informed, for his beingcareful to examine,to

com-pare, toweigh,

measure and

select discreetly; the

neces-sity for

him

tobecritical

and

capable,inorderto render

10

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Psychometry,

in its unrestricted significance, "is that science

which

treats ofthenature

and

functions of those innate

human

faculties

by

the intelligent exerciseof

which

we

may,

independent of

any

and

all external sources of information, gain a conscious

knowledge

of facts

and

conditions previously

unknown

to us."

Hence,

by

Psy-chometry, certain individuals are enabled to successfully locate

underground

waters, veins of minerals, deposits of oil, hidden or lost treasures, to tell the

component

elements of

compound

substances (ores

and

thelike), to diagnose diseases, to indicate

means

for their removal, to readcharacter, to indicate defeat or success in

enter-prises,

and

evento foretell events.

All of these actuate

on

the physical plane,

and

are in

accord with

well-known

laws; therefore, tho they

come

within thescopeof spiritualdiscernment,they can hardly be classed

among

demonstrations of spirit-entity, or of the Continuity of Life,

which

is the ultimatemission of

mediumship.

But

thereis another

and

higher

form

of Psychometry, involving the spiritual intuition, exercising clairvoyance

and

clairaudience,

and

requiringa

knowledge

of thelaws

governing

auras

and

vibrations, with

power

to discern

and

interpretsymbols spirituallypresented. This

neces-sarily falls withinthe realmsof spiritual investigation.

Without

dwelling here

upon

the system of auras, etc.,

which

will be treated in extenso later,

we

will indicate

It

must

beinsisted

upon

thatthe

medium

or

psychome-ter

must

be in a passive

and

recipientstate, since all the

phenomena coming under

this

head

actuate

on

the

spirit-ual plane, involving the keenest exercise of the psychic senses.

Suppose

a letter, or article of

wear

be submitted for psychometric reading,

and an

influence isperceived, not previously noticed. This is

an

indication that the reader

is

coming

en rapport withthe personal

magnetism

ofthe writer of the letter or the

owner

of the article,

which

magnetism

was communicated

when

theletter

was

origi-nally written, or thearticle

was

worn.

From

this, the

moral

or physical condition,often both, of the original

owner

can be described.

Thus, a sense of animation

would

indicate purity or health, whileasense of lassitude,orlossofpower,

weak-ness,

and

depression

would

indicate that the original

owner was

depletedmagnetically

by

beingillorsuffering pain,or

was

in

danger

of beingso.

A

sense of elation

coming

in here

would

indicate a hopeful issue,

and

an early release

from

the oppressing trouble.

If the psychometrist is brot in

communication

with a spirit entity, the character or quality of that spirit

may

be

judged by

the influence or sensation

which

that

spirit entity casts over the psychometrist, even tho the

spirit

form

be not clairvoyantly discerned.

In this way, earth-bound,

mocking

or lying

messages

are frequently detected

by

arousingasenseofprovocation

12

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IN

Psychometry

thus reveals the true inwardness of indi-viduals,

and were

detectives to cultivate or

employ

this power,

and

personsof criminaltendenciestobe convinced of it,

psychometry would

prove a more,efficacious

pre-ventive ofcrime thanthe present fearof the

Law

exerts.

Would

not

many

a one hesitate to

commit

a crime could it be

proven

to

him

that the objects surrounding

him would

tellthetale?

Besides this,

psychometry

reveals the history of

inani-mate

objects to the sensitive.

By

holding such objects

in his

hand and

giving close attention to the same, a consciousness arises similar to inspiration,

and

tells a story foreign to one's previousknowledge,

and

from

this

the historyof the object can be gleaned.

Some

persons obtain clairvoyant glimpses or visions

in connection with these impressions

which

afford great aid in the

comprehension

of the latter,

and

prove ex-tremely interesting to the psychometer.

Others

seem

tohear voices,or

have

their tastes appar-ently affected, thus

having

other aids to their better un-derstanding of the impressions received.

In diagnosing disease, the latter is extremely helpful, as it often leads to the direct cause of the ailment, or pointsthitherward.

Some

diagnosticiansobtain a taste of thefoodor medi-cine

needed

in such cases

and

are guided

by

that alone.

But

each one

must

use his or her

own

judgment

in the special features of psychometric development,

and

learn

In developing the

power

of psychometry, the

method

given herewith

may

befollowed.

Have

afriend present to

you

for reading,an object

which you have

neverseen,

and from which you

cannot possibly gain

any

personal information of a leadingnature. Articles of jewelry, or personal property of your friends, relatives or acquaint-ances

may

beused.

Flowers

alwaysare effective,asthey

seem

to convey thevery thots of the giver or possessor. Letters also are good.

On

receiving the article, either hold it firmly in the

hand

or pressed to the forehead. Experience will

show

which

willgive the best result in

any

given case. After

making

sure that

your

mind

is clear

from

all external impressions relating to other matters,

and

that the full

attention is concentrated

upon

the object in hand, then

state the very first impression that

comes

to you.

One

is aptto say, "I don't feel anythingin particular." This is natural, but not true.

You

do

gain a distinct

impression, buteitherbecause of

your

undeveloped state,

or because

you

are expecting

some phenomenal

mental condition,

you

do notperceiveit.

Never

mind

how

trivial or foolish the impression or thot conveyed

may

seem

to you, enunciate it at once.

Many

fine results have

come

from

an apparently foolish impression at the start.

As

you

hold the object in

your

hand, note

whether

a

faint impression ofheat or cold ensues;

whether

a

pro-nounced

nervousness, faintness or,

on

the other hand, anincreasedvitalityisnoted.

Such

conditions are usually

14

A

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IN

theprecursorsof

an

approachto the real owner's

person-ality,

and

willbe

found

to indicatehis state of health. Correspondingly, mental states perceived while holding the object will afford

you an

entrance into the owner's mentalstates

and

ultimately to his character.

The

perception ofthementalstateofthe

owner

reveals

whether

he is worried about material affairs,

whether

he

is in trouble, or again,

whether

he is subject to

some

specialjoy or exaltation.

Study your

impressions

and

emotions carefully while holding the object,

and

learn to

weigh

each, subjecting

it to rigid examination, analysis

and

critical judgment. Fifteen minutes' practice each

day

will in a short time enable

you

to

do

creditable

work

inthe art of

psychome-try.

Every

human

being possesses the

power

to

psychom-etrize to a greater or lesser extent.

It

may

even be exerted unconsciously, as for instance,

when

we

receive a gift that is apparently desirable but gives us a distinctly unpleasant impression.

Or

again,

when we

shake

hands

with a person, a pleasurable or unpleasurable impressionisreceived, or inthe caseof

an

oldacquaintance

we

often findourselves obsessed

by

his

mood when

coming

into contact with him.

In these

and

numberless other instances,

we may

by

careful observation note the activity ofpsychometric

in-fluences in every-daylife.

The

following experiment, recordedin theProgressive Thinker,

May

8, 1909,

was

made

under

the writer's per-sonal observation

and

will be interesting to students in this phase of psychic development:

MEDIUMSHIP

15

Remarkable

Psychometric Test,

Which

Indicates

That

Psychometry

May

be an Important

Aid

to Science,

and

Which

Was

Given

by

Mrs.

Margaret Gaule

Reidinger.

At

an informal gathering held April 1 at the

home

of the writer,

two

notabletests

were

developed

through

the

mediumship

of

Margaret Gaule

Reidinger, the

New

York

psychic.

As

will be seen

from

the following description, the objects given her,

from which

she read

were

of such a nature as to render itpractically impossible for the

me-dium

to

have

described them, even

had

she been deeply versedingeological science.

Without

previous intimation, in thecourse of

an

ordi-nary conversationin

no

wiserelatingtopsychic

phenom-ena, a small grayish white stone

was

suddenly placed in

the

medium's

hand, with arequest to see

what

she could get

from

it.

The

resultant reading

which

was

given in

thepresenceof several witnesses,

was

as follows "Thisobjectisold

—

oh, so old,ittakes

me

back

many,

many

years. It goes long before

Egypt

—

back, back,

until it

seems

as if there

were no

human

being

on

the earthat all. Itbrings a

most

peculiar sensation with it,

as of a great

mass

of vapor

and

steam. Lots of water,

in factit

seems

as ifthere

was

nothing but water almost everywhere.

There

doesn't

seem

to be

any

life

around

this,

and

yet thisobject has

something

to

do

with lifeas

though

it

had

once been alive, although it hardly

seems

possible. If there

was any

life at that time this

must

have

been

one

of the very earliest

forms

of it,

and

yet it

seemstobea stone.

There

must have

been

many

changes

in theearthitselfsincethisobject

was

firstformed."

Without

comment

and

immediately followingthis

read-ing, another piece oftotally dissimilar stone

was handed

her

and

the request repeated. This

brought

forth the following

16

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"This is

an

entirely different object

from

theotherone.

It is old, but not nearly so old as the first object,

and

while itis differentincolor,itisalsovery differentin its

nature. This takes

me

away

from

here, oh, so far,

and

with it

comes

a sense of terrific motion. This has been heated, very hot, indeed; in fact, melted; I see flames

all about until it

seems

as

though

they

must

be flames

I should say almost of hell fire. Before this

was

hot it

came

from where

there

was

life. I see

human

beings

—

and

yetthey are notlike

human

beingsas

we know

them.

They

seem

to

have

large heads

and

littlebodies,

and do

not

seem

to

have

much

hair.

There

are

what

appear to bebuildings

around

but notlikeours

and

theyact

differ-ently

from

us.

They

are like us,

and

yet not like us.

Then

everything

seems

to

grow

dark,

and

then all flame,

and

thisobject

comes

away

from

there

and

grows

hotter

and

hotteritself. Ithas

had something

to

do

with a

dead

man, seems

as if it

had

killed the

man,

but this

man

seems

to

have

been

one

likeourselves"

—

At

this point a slight

commotion

in our

own

group

broke thereading

and Mrs. Gaule

didnotresume.

The

first object

handed

her

was

a fossil specimen of Trilobite

(Calymene

Niagarensis-Hall),

Niagara Group,

from

Grafton, 111. This is

one

of the earliest

forms

of Crustaceanlife

upon

the earth, dating backtothe

Upper

SilureanEra,inthe

Onondaga

period,

and formed

oneof the

most

remarkable

and

accurate tests

which

ithas ever

beenthefortuneof thewriter to hear.

The

secondobject, as

many

may

have

surmised,

was

a specimen chipped

from

a large meteorite

which on

com-ing into contact with this earth's surface, caused the death of a laborer. In

many

respects this test

was

even

more

remarkable than the preceding. First

from

the cosmic conditionsattachingto the object, thenthe direct positive allusion to

advanced

conditionsofstellarlife.

It has

become

a popular pastime

among

some

psychics to

make

nightly tripsto

Mars

or

some

other convenient planetat excursionrates cheerfullypaid

by

thecredulous attendants at parlor seances, but in the present instance the positive assertion

made

simply

from

the reading of

an

unknown

object, uninfluenced

by

prior suggestion or even allusion to the subject of psychism in the remotest

manner, seems

to offer these articles for reading. This, unless

we

take into consideration the writer's

own

mind, excludes

any

explanation

by

the telepathichypothesis,

and

with that very possibility in

mind

the writer purposely kept his

mind from

the subject as

much

as possible

and

was

surprisedtonotethatthereadingin

no

wise touched

upon any

of the ideas in general with

which he

was

ac-customed

to associate the objects.

The

lastthought

which

thesereadingsbring outisof a

still

more

serious nature.

They

demonstrate the

inde-structibility of the psychometric aura attachingto every object, organic

and

inorganic, in the Universe. Accept-ing this postulate,

what avenue

to a

wider

and

deeper

knowledge

of the hidden things of this

and

even other worlds

might

be

opened

to us

would

science accept the proffered assistanceof

psychism

and

hand-in-hand along the

pathways

of scientific investigation

and

exploration seek out those things

which

are veiled

from

our mortal vision. Science has

made

commendable

progress along

many

lines, butin others ithas exhibited a

most

remark-able tendencyto retard rather thanassist in the

develop-ment

of

new

lines of thought

where

old established theories are threatened.

The

Copernican

Theory was

a notable instance of this,

and

it is only in our

own

day

that the subject of

hypnotism

and

suggestions has re-ceived a tardy recognition

from

the savants.

At

the present time psychism is

engaged

in its battle for the

18

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acknowledgment

of

men

of science as a legitimate field

ofinvestigation, yetithas forced

them

totakecognizance of

many

ofitsbasic truths.

This is the first time to the writer's

knowledge

that

any

similar articles

have

been submittedto psychometric

tests

and

thesuccess achieved

by Mrs. Gaule

hasledto the belief thatwith the cultivationof theproperconditions a

reliable psychic

may

be trained to render invaluable aid to scienceinitsmanifoldinvestigations.

CHAPTER

TWO

CLAIRVOYANCE

AND

CLAIRAUDIENCE.

CLAIRVOYANCE

and

clairaudience, or

|clear seeing

and

clear hearing, are best

considered collectively,

inasmuch

as

I

either phase of psychic

development

is

seldom

found

without being

accom-panied

by

its corollary to a greater or lesser degree.

As

ithasbeen aptlyput

by

a

well-known

psychic,

"Many

times one hearssights

and

sees sounds."

It

must

be understood, however,that the ideaof

clair-voyance

and

clairaudience as taught

and

utilized

by

the Brotherhood, differs considerably

from

the

common

in-terpretation put

upon

these phases of psychic

develop-ment by

those

whose

only acquaintance with either of

them

is thru the usualmanifestations of so-called spirit-ualistic

phenomena.

A

clairvoyance

and

clairaudience

which

may

be a nat-uralgift,or

which

may

be the result of so-called

"devel-opment"

circles,

when

used solely for materialistic pur-poses as the

means

of a livelihood, is totally foreign to the ideals

and

purposes of the Brotherhood. It

may

indeedfurnish convincing proof tothose well-intentioned persons

who

are interested in occultism merely to the extent of securing evidence of the Continuity of Life

and

of conscious existence

beyond

the grave, or again as the evidence of the 'operation of force directed

by

20

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intelligence actuating

under assumedly supernormal

con-ditions, but in neither case are such

phenomena

the de-sideratum of theBrotherhood.

The

development

of

power

to

produce

psychic

phenom-ena

under

any

circumstances

merely

for purposes of

display; the satisfaction of the curious or skeptical, or the information of those

who

are unwilling to take the trouble to search for themselves, is far

from

being

en-couraged

among

the fraters

and

sorors Rosse Crucis.

As

a matter of fact,

no

one so affiliated could legitimately

become

a partyto

any

such exhibition or demonstration.

Aside

from

thesepreliminary remarks, theimportance of the cultivation ofclairvoyance

and

clairaudience

under

proper guidance, cannot be too strongly

emphasized

and

urged upon

those entering

upon

the

PATH.

To

such it

willbeabsolutely necessaryin order to perceivethe true illumination

which

isone of their ultimate goals.

Clairvoyance

and

clairaudience areoperative

upon

both physical

and

spiritual planes of being, alike.

They

rnay apply to conditions appertaining purely to the affairs of daily life, scenes

and

incidents either

remote

or close at

hand,

—

to personalities living,

and

closely associatedwith us,oratgreatdistances

and

whom

we

may

not

have

seen for long periods of time; of

whom

we

may

even

have

lostallknowledge.

Seeing such persons clairvoyantly, or hearing them, does not

come

under

the

head

of the"Apparitions ofthe Living"as

mentioned

inthe sub-divisions of theprevious lesson.

That

phenomenon

issodesignated only

when

wit-nessed

by

more

than one person without

any

of the usually associated elements of

phenomena

entering into the existing conditions.

Clairvoyance

and

clairaudience operating

upon

the physical plane

may

not only be the result of individual development; they

may

also be the result of hypnotic

MEDIUMSHIP

influence carriedthru the stages of

somnambulism.

The

works

of

Alexandre

Dumas

are in several instances

based

upon

thistruth,

which

first

became

known

to

mod-ern times shortly after the experiments of

Mesmer

and

his tub,

among

the ladies of the

French

court. In our

own

immediate

times,theexperimentsofDr.

Quackenbos

and

his associates have demonstratedthevalue

and

truth ofhypnotic clairvoyancetoadegreeof absolute certainty,

—

the subjectdescribing accurately the actions of people

unknown

to her, in apartments variously locatedthruout the city, reading sealed objects

and

books,

and

giving various numerical combinations. This willbe

more

thor-oly treated of in a later discussion of the subject of

Hypnotism

proper. It is also permissible to state here that

much

of the

phenomena

of so-called

mind

or sight reading'

upon

the stage, aside

from

rank charlatanism, is

produced

by

first hypnotising the subject

on

the stage.

The

subject thereafter acts in rapport with theoperator

who

mingles freely with the audience. It is not even necessarythat the operator read the bills, coins, letters,

etc.,offered

him

fortests.

Merely

thathe holds

them

in

his

hand

or even touches

them

is sufficient to put that object thru

him

in rapport with the hypnotised subject

on

the platform or stage. This is clairvoyance

on

the physical plane,

and

of the

most

materialisticnature.

The

desirability of stating the above instances here is

that it

shows

plainly that the cultivation of ordinary clairvoyance

and

clairaudience is not necessarily con-tingent

upon

the cultivation or possession of essentially spiritual attributes. Occultists well

know

the existence of both Black

and White

Magic,

and

to the first class belong the

phenomena

previously mentioned.

And

it

may

bealsowhispered here that asceticism,monasticism,

and

the cultivation of

Cromwellian

moods

is just as apt to result in the production of

phenomena

attributable to

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Black

Magic

as to White, forthe influences

most

com-monly

en rapport with such

moods

and

states of

mind

are

more

apt to be allied with the

former

than withthe

latter.

Clairvoyance

on

the physical plane

may

be applied to the geological strata of the earth,

and

veins of mineral

and

metal deposits

have

sometimes

been discovered

by

this means.

When

attempting to use this

power

in the higher realms of

Matter

such as the solution ofchemical processes, etc., it can be

done

successfully only

when

directed

by

high spiritual attainments, for, as is well

known

to occultists, the true

home

of

Matter

is not the

visiblephysicalworld, buttheinvisible,spiritualplane of being.

When

dealing with molecules, atoms, elektrons

and

eons,

we

have

passed

beyond

the pale of the physical

and

are well

on

our

way

intopurely spiritual regions. Spiritual clairvoyance in its lower phases actuates chiefly in the description

and

discernment of spiritual beingsclose to the earthplane

and

who

have

experienced,

more

or less recently, an earth life. It

may

be applied totheaccurate descriptionof the conditions

under which

such entities

may

manifest for purposes of identification either to the

medium

alone, or to the satisfaction ofthe

one

for

whom

the

medium

is "sitting."

These

entities

are functioning for the timebeing in the Etheric planes

and

the Desire

World,

usually

known

collectively as the Astral Plane.

It

must

berealizedat this point,that clairvoyance thus applied furnishes

no

proof of

"IMMORTALITY"

in

the acceptance of a condition of endless duration. It

does tend to prove the existence of conscious func-tioning

beyond

the grave, but, despite the assertions of

many

professing spiritualists to the contrary,

no

sat-isfactory identifications of personalities

who

have

"been passed

beyond"

for a matter of

more

than a century or

so, have ever been given. It is quite a

common

occur-rence for

mediums

to informtheir "sitters" of an

amaz-ing

and

formidable list of

names

of the illustrious de-parted

who

have

come

to be this or that individual's "guide" or "Control." This

seems

to be a certain pro-fessional procedure,

and

works

admirably in impressing the novice in psychic sittings until years of experience have convinced

him

or her either ofits complete fallacy orat leastuselessness.

The

true occultisthas other

ways

and means

of satisfyinghimself thru

knowledge

ofhigher spheresthan ordinary clairvoyance can everreach, of the continued existence of previously incarnated spirits or egos,

and

he also

knows

that it is impossible for such egos as

have

passed to spheres

beyond

the Astral plane to function continuously as the

permanent

guide of

any

mortal,en rapport withthatmortal

on

the physical plane.

The

sole exception to this absolute law,

which on

later

knowledge

willbe

found

not tobe

an

exception at all,is

in the case of those Elder Brothers

whose

evolution so far as this planet is concerned has been completed,

and

who

have

learned to utilize the requisite vehicles for functioning

on any

plane they

may

desire in the further-ance oftheir

work

forhumanity.

It is inthe application of clairvoyance to the spiritual planes that the difference

between

physical

and

spiritual development

becomes

apparent.

Unconscious, passive, or ordinary

mediumship

of a clairvoyant or clairaudient nature is liable to

many

and

grievous mistakes.

Remarkable

identifications

may

be

made, wonderful

clarity of vision so far as things easily recognizable are concerned,

may

beindicated, but

when

oneconsults

medium

after

medium

of theordinary "nat-ural" or untrained type in regard to

supermundane

con-ditions, one finds oneself in a mental

maze

of

seeming

appar-24

A

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IN

ently irreconcilable. This unfortunate condition

may

notnecessarily invalidate the

work

ofthe

medium,

but it

certainlydoes confusethequestioner

and

discourages

him

from

further research.

Heindel* hasbrot out verynicely the

work

ofthe

un-trained

medium,

also the efforts of the various

media

when

applied to

one and

the

same

thing, affording

many

points of view, widely differing. This occurs in his simileofthereporters writing

up

a givencity,each con-tributing

from

his

own

point of view, correct, trained,

definite, widelydiffering

from

thoseof his fellows, yetall

combined

giving us a

more

comprehensive

idea of that particular citythan

any

one alone could

have

done.

Again, in the

"Cosmo-Conception"

we

are given the simile of looking out

between

the shutters of a blind,

whereby

we

canseeonlyjustas

much

of the

view

before us ascan

come

withinthe rangeofourperspective.

This

amply

illustrates the idea of passive, untrained

mediumship

operating thru clairvoyant

and

clairaudient

phenomena.

The

untrained clairvoyant sees limitedly, is unable to describe accurately

what

he or she really sees,

and

even so cannotsee

beyond

theplanes analogous to that of

our

own

physicalworld.

The

trained clairvoyant,

on

the contrary, sees widely, not only thru the Etheric Planes of the higher division of the Physical

World,

but thru the Astral

World

into thelower

Thought

Planes.

Such an

one is able to discriminate

between

the

illu-sions of the

World

of Desire,

which

to theuntrainedseer appear to be so

permanent and

real,

—

and

the real, true, archetypes

and

conditionsin the

World

of Thot, atleast in its lowest division

—

that of Concrete Thot. This is

the real value of trained seership

—

the ability to

dis-tinguish

between

thefalse

and

thetrueinthingsspiritual.

The World

of Desire with its vast aggregation of ap-parently tangible conditions, each, however, the creation of individualdesire,

and

asevanescentasthe desire

which

created them, offers almost insurmountable obstacles to theuntrained psychicin the

way

of accurate description.

The

trained clairvoyant first learns

what

to see, then

how

to seeit.

Language

is ofteninadequate toproperly describe spiritual conditions

and

states,

and

it is only

by

analogy thatthey can be

made

tangibleto those

who

are unable to see for themselves.

The

trained clairvoyant sees not only

what

may

be before him, he sees

what

he

will, as hewill,

where and

when

he will.

What

ismore, he learns

how

to describe accurately

what

he sees, sep-arating, discriminating,

weighing

and

assorting the con-ditions so that error in description is reduced to a

minimum.

In dealing with the different planes seen clairvoyantly one

must

remember

that the clairvoyant is often times looking as it

were

thru several worlds at one

and

the

same

time. In this

way

it is obvious

how

conditions actuallyseen

may

so oftenbehopelessly

mixed and

con-founded

as to

become

almost irreconcilable

and

unintel-ligible. Instruction in clairvoyance

must

include instruc-tion inthe real conditions pertaining to each world,

and

the

medium

must

betrained so as to beableto properly discriminate

between

the conditions pertaining to each.

Auras and

colors play a

most

important part in the training of a

medium.

Indeed as a rule it is the color that isfirst perceived

by

the

embryo

psychic

—

many

be-come

soexpertin readingcolor that the story ofspiritual

conditions is often revealed to

them

in this

way

alone. In an almost similar

manner

clairaudience is influenced

26

A

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Many

curiouscases

have

been noted

by

medicalscience

which have

theirexplanation purely

on

the basis of

clair-voyance.

For

instance, thecase of the

boy

at Braintree, Mass., son of a reputable physician of that town,

who

earlydeveloped

what

was

commonly

known

asthe

X-ray

eyes.

His

peculiar phase

gave him

the

power

entirely independent of his

own

volition, to see as clearly

and

as

transparently thru,

and

into otherphysical organisms,as into a vessel of clear water.

This case

was

thoroly investigated

by

many

scientific

men

and

its genuineness

proven

beyond

doubt.

His

de-scriptions of interior conditions of other

organisms was

so accuratethathe

became

a

most

useful assistant to his father,in thelatter's diagnosticwork.

The

question is often asked,

"Does one

see clairvoy-antly thru one's physical eyes, or is it thru a different

power?"

Yes and No.

In other words,

under

ordinary circumstancesthe trainedclairvoyantdoes see thru

phys-ical eyes if he so chooses, or again, he can see equally well with both his eyes closed, thus

showing

that the operationof

OD

forcecan bedirectedthru either purely physical or purelyspiritual channels at will.

The

untrainedclairvoyant,however,

may

have

the sen-sation of seeing thru physical eyes, solelybecause those avenues of sense perception offer theline ofleast

resist-ance to the high vibratory conditions necessary to pro-duce clairvoyance, but it is a matter of apparent sensa-tion alone, not actual perception thru ocular sensoria.

The

same

is equally true of clairaudience.

No

medium

hearsa spirit.

One

does have, however, thesensation of hearingsuch,

and

the sensationis to all purposesas real as the actual state of audition.

In the untrained clairvoyant

and

clairaudient the evi-dencesof

phenomena

manifest thrutheundeveloped spir-itualcentersinthe cerebro-spinalsystem, althogivingthe

medium

the impression of

having

functioned thru the

normal

avenues ofsenseperception.

This is

what

is

commonly

called the sixth sense,

and

has beenvariously attributed to the activity of the Pineal

PINEAL

GLAND

Gland. This is perfectly correct, but the Pineal.Gland has beenthe greatest

mystery

toanatomists

and

physiol-ogists since its existence first

became

known

to science.

Only

with thekey furnished

by

occultism can

we

unlock

its secret. In the lessons

on

Rosicrucian

Symbology

2

the various functions of the Pineal

Gland

are fully ex-plained

and

itsimportanceastheprimal sourceof activity

2_Rosicrucian

28

A

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in the

human

organism

both physical

and

spiritual are there outlined.

One

of the

most

notable

examples

of a peculiar phase ofclairvoyance

was

the case ofMollie

Fancher

of

Brook-lyn,

whose marvelous

work

in theassortment

and

match-ing of exquisite colors, with her

hands

behind her

head

and

blind in both eyes,is well

known

to

many

thousands

who

visited her. This

might

well be called a genuine case of physico-spiritual clairvoyance.

In the

development

of clairvoyance various

methods

have been

pursued

with about equal success. Crystal-lomancy, or the use of a crystal ball, often brings out the desired

power

after the requisite period of concen-tration

and

development.

A

glass of water filled to the

brim

may

be used to the

same

effect.

A

sheetof

card-board

withacircle in strong blackoutline

having

ablack dot in the center is also good. In

any

of these cases, however,

do

not seek to see anything in particular at

first. In

advanced

stages of

development one

can see

what one

wishes

by

holding the thot generally inmind,

and

its amplification or actuation will be seen clairvoy-antly. In this

way

the activities of distantpersons

may

often be noted

and

described.

At

first, however, hold the

mind

perfectly blank, with the gaze concentrated

upon

the crystal, surface of the water, orthe dot inthe center of the card.

Images

will be

more

readily seen viathefirst

two

methods.

When

usingthecard

and

dot, the firstsign ofprogress

willbe theappearance of agolden orfiery corona

around

the

edge

of the dot, likethe effect of a total eclipse of the sun.

Often

the dotwill appeartobe doubled. This

is merely anopticalillusion

and

is notpsychical. In order to

guard

against illusions of the senses, the student isurgently advised to read thoroly Prof. James' Briefer

Course

in Psychology,

wherein

allthe

phenomena

of opticsareadequatelyexplained,togetherwith valuable data

and

information regarding the

phenomena

of sense

and

consciousness as well. Later the dot will appear to

expand

until the developing psychic hasthe sensation of looking directly intoblack outer space.

A

good

Way

to proceed, is to take about fifteen or twenty minutes of concentration with crystal, glass or card, properly

shaded

from

brilliant light, so as not to obtain confusing

and

irritating reflections

—

on

a plain

fork

table, so as not to

have

the distractions of colored designs too close at hand. After this time has elapsed, turn off the light entirely

and

allow the forces to

mani-fest

by

aidof the

Akasic

Lightalone.

Under

these conditionsonewillsoon begintosee

cloud-like formations floating rapidly by, whirling, expanding,

and

closing like spirals.

They

are indeed the spiral

nebulae in the Etheric Region, the

minute

prototypes of cosmic creative processes. Little

by

little, these will be notedto

have

definitecolor

—

the colors of the solar spec-trum,

and

in lessons

on

colors

and

auras, these color significances willbe thorolyexplained. Itis sufficientto

statehere, thatsuchcolors exist

and

willbe noted

by

the student.

As

development

progresses,geometricalfigures willbe noted in process of formation,

sometimes

vague,

some-timestakingtangible shape

and

form.

No

apparent rea-son for theirexistence will occur to the student atfirst,

until he realizesthat heis lookingprobably for the first

time into the sphereof archetypal forms,

and

when

this

occurs to

him

he will give attention to each particular

form

until its definite shape

and

purpose is

made

mani-festtohim.

The

next step in

development

is the discernment of parts of the

human

figure.

A

face, a hand, a foot or

30

A

BRIEF

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emerge from

outthedarkness.

Sometimes

notthe figure but aportion of a dressor articleof

wear

willbe

shown

for purposes of identification.

The

logical resultof this

stage, however, is the ultimate revelation of the entire figureinthe spiritual state of being.

One

of the

most

notable

phenomena

of

development

is

the appearance, after a short time, of bright lights seen

emanating from

another person with

whom

one

may

be

sitting in the dark.

Again

these bright lights,

more

brilliant than the sun at zenith, will often flash in front of one in the full light of day.

These

are the centers, ganglia, if

we

may

so use the word, of the Akasic light vibrations

and

their appearance

and

perception isalways a sign of

encouragement

to the developing psychic.

When

the

above

mentioned

results

have been

satisfac-torily attained then is the time to transmute the passive

mediumship

into active, conscious

mediumship,

under

one's

own

full control

and

as an act of one's

own

volition.

Many

times the student will note letters, numerals, fragmentsof

words

oreven complete words.

These

may

be

signs given

him by an

entity attempting to

convey

a

message and

suchsigns shouldbecarefullynoticed; they

can be held tothe psychicvision

by

a strongact of will,

long enufforadequate investigation

and

concentration.

The

first requisite is the cultivation of one's spiritual

and

mental

powers

to thehighest degreepossible.

Focus

all

your

power on

the attainment of self-control

and

the cultivation of strength of will. This cultivation will

result in the corresponding increase of

your

atomic, molecular,

and

cellular vibration thruout the entire

body

until,little

by

little,the functions of the entireorganism, physical orspiritual,

become

a mattersolelyof

your

own

voluntaryactof will,

and

the

power

ofclairvoyance

and

ex-MEDIUM

tensively or asminutely investigative as desired.

Summed

up, clairvoyance

may

bedefined as the raising of one's

powers

of sense perception

from

a lower to a higherstateof vibration. Science has

shown

usthatthere areinfinitelygreater realmsof activitythanour ordinary senses perceive,

—

thatbothabove

and below

thespectrum there are rays, or states of vibratory impact,

which

our

normal

senses as

we

enjoy

them

at present are unableto cognize, but

which

are nevertheless demonstrable

by

laboratory processes.

Clairvoyance,therefore,instead ofbeingasupernatural

power

or supernormal process, is simply the cultivation, development, expansion,

—

raising to the

Nth

power

of one's faculties of sense perception; the increase of the

vibratorystatusofoursensoria.

Thoro

study of true occultism is necessary in orderto

know

accurately

what

oneis seeingor experiencing,

and

toenable

one

to relegatetoits properplace each individ-ual item of experience,

from

a correct

knowledge

of the conditions pertainingto each. •

Used

for the best

and

highest purposes

and

actuated only

by

genuine motives, clairvoyance

and

clairaudience

will bring happiness

and

help to humanity,

and

progress

and

enlightenmentto the individual phychic.

Wrongly

used, itwill

redound

tothedetriment

and

de-generationof the

one

somis-usingit.

32

A

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CHAPTER

THREE

TRANCE—

CONSCIOUS

AND

UNCONSCIOUS.

J

EXT

in order

among

the phases of psychic

phenomena,

so-called,

which

Iclaim our attention, is that

commonly

known

as

TRANCE,

which, as

we

learned in a previous lesson, manifests

under

two

states

—

the* conscious

and

the unconscious.

Just

what

trance really IS,

no

occultist, psychologist, or scientist can define in terms of scientific verbiage

which would

be adequate

and

entirely satisfactory. Into just

what

degree of

coma

the subject enters, just

what

inhibition of the

normal

sensoriaexists;

what

be-comes

of the

Ego

;

how many

vehicles are functioning

during this state, cannot be

answered

with

any

greater degree of positivity than

we

can definethe

phenomenon

of consciousness itself.

The

onereally great psychologist

America

has thusfar

produced

had

to leave this

problem

unsolved at the

day

of his death, notwithstanding the

profound

thought he

had

given to the

mystery

—

for

mystery

it is, or rather, theyare, fortrance

and

consciousness willboth be

found

tobe varying manifestations of

one

and

the

same group

of mental functions.

Trance

and

consciousness

have remained

the

mystery

the line of their solution.

Once

found,

we

shall indeed

have

made

tremendous

progress in the direction of a

more

accurate

knowledge

of just

what

LIFE

itself,

chem-ically, dynamically,

and

kinetically, really is.

Our

preliminaryinvestigations of thisabsorbing phase of

phenomena

bring us face to face at the very outset with that

bogey

of

modern

schools of occultism

—

the

SUBJECTIVE

STATE.

Regardlessofthe mental

atti-tudes of various teachers

and

instructors, regardless of

what

special doctrines,

dogmas,

theories or hypotheses

may

be

adduced

to the contrary, regardless of the wild, speculative,

vague and

unscientific

warnings

that are so often given in thesedays

by

teachers

who

fearlesttheir pupils shallparticipate in the

same

advantages they

them-selves enjoy,

and

somewhat

of their prestige be lost

thereby

—

regardless of all this, the application of the essential principles of plain, straightforward psychology

shows

the trancestate

under any

conditions to be purely subjective.

It

makes no

difference

whether

itbe Rosicrucian, Yogi, Spiritualistic, or the so-called "Great" School ofNatural Science, which, after all, is simply the aggregation of fraters

and

sorors visible

and

invisible in

many

lands

and

known

by

many

names,

who

are

engaged

tothebest of their individual ability inthe

Magnum

Opus

for

hu-manity

—

and

incidentally for themselves; trance

condi-tions willinevitablybe

found

tobesubjective.

The

fallacy of so-called "Independent"

methods

may

be seen

by

the simplest process of scientific reasoning. Before trance or

coma

can be attained exterior condi-tions

must

be presentin

some form

toassist.

No

human

being can, of his or her

own

free will,

UNAIDED,

in-hibitthemechanical action of the cerebral functions.

To

stop thinking voluntarily is

an

utter impossibility.

The

process of transmuting exterior vibratory impacts into

34

A

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RS

E

IN

intelligiblesenseperception,

producing

the

phenomena

of consciousness, is closely allied with the involuntary

ac-tivities of other functions of the

human

organism, the only difference being that

one

function belongs to the mental or spiritualplanes, the others to thepurely

phys-ical plane,

and

it is not chimerical for us to believe that ultimately

ALL

functions will be

found

to derive their

initial activity

from

spiritual planes,

and

that the very

phenomenon

ofLifewillbe

found

to consistin the trans-mutation of invisible spiritual energy into visible

physi-cal manifestation.

No

process, therefore, can betruthfully designated as "independent"

which

depends

upon

exterior conditions for assistance. Independent clairvoyanceisa totally

dif-ferent thing, forinthat instance

one

develops

by

raising one's atomic

and

molecular vibrations to a higherplane,

and

thus independently sees at will after transmuting passive

mediumship

into active, conscious functioning.

Inthe caseoftrance,

which

isa higherstate of

devel-opment and

much more

valuablefor evidential purposes,

this

development

cannot proceed as the result of the individual's

own

voluntary efforts. Exterior forces

and

conditions

must

beutilized.

A

glance at the historical evidencesof the trancestate

shows

thisalwaysto

have

beentrue.

The

often quoted ancients, our masters in occult lore,

utilized thetrance state

on

all ofthe

more

important oc-casions. Clairvoyance

was

to

them

the simplest of all

processes

and

very little importance

was

attached to it.

The

possession of clairvoyant

and

clairaudient

powers

was

regardedas a sine

qua

non by

thehumblest aspirant to the priesthood.

Trance

and

PROPHECY

were

the great gifts so

highly prized

by

the cabalists of pre-christian times

Among

the exteriorprocesses utilized

by

them

for

as-sistancein producingthetrance state

may

be

enumerated

Drugs, Herbs, Dancing, Vapors, Concentration

upon

specially preparedobjects, Fasting, Sexual Excesses,

and

Singing.

Certain

drugs

have

been

and

are today

known

to orientals

and

to

some

occidentals aspowerfully potentin theproductionof

temporary

or prolongedtrance, sodeep as to

become

actual catalepsy.

Dancing

was

utilized

by

thepsychic

among

bothsexes,

inancienttimes as a

means

of

producing

certain mental states

by

accelerated rythmic vibrations, altho, needless to say,

none

of our

modern

dances can be utilized to the

same

effect.

Vapors were

the

primary

stimulus oragentineffecting the trance state

among

the Pythia of the Delphic

and

other notable Oraclesof ancient times.

Fasting

and

Sexual Excesses

were and

are

now

to a large extent in

vogue

in India

and

the

Far

East, for the purpose of producing exalted mental states thru sheer physical exhaustion, for it isa

well-known

factthat the

weaker

the physical organism, the

more

exalted will the mental

and

spiritual states be found.

And

it

must

be

added

at this point that the sexual excesses referred to

in this instance

do

not necessarily

mean

sexual degener-acy in the

modern

acceptance of the term.

Singing has always been usedasa

means

of

producing

anexaltedmental state

and

is

one

of thehighestexterior accessories, as it appeals directly to the spiritual nature alone without producing unnecessary exhaustion of the physical organism. In a

way

its effect is analogous to thatofdancing.

Without

attempting at this point to enter into a

scien-tific discussion of the psychological principles involved,

w

r

ewillnotethe action of the trance stateifit

may

be so

36

A

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RS

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IN

In a previous chapter

we

learned that in conscious trancethe

medium

permitstheuseof the physical organ-ism without surrenderingtheindividual consciousness.

In unconscious trance, the

medium

enters a state of absolute

coma

and

while inthis condition surrendersthe controlof the physical

organism

to the operationsof the manifestingintelligence orso-called "Control"

under

cir-cumstances

somewhat

analogous to the relations

between

hypnotist

and

subject

on

thephysical plane.

It is notour intention to quote Biblical references as

scientific evidence. It is possible

and

permissible,

how-ever, to quote

them

as purely external evidence relative to conditions

which have

made

a powerful impress

upon

the world's

work

and

thot thru

methods

now

under

dis-cussion.

As

an

example, therefore, ofconscious trance

we may

refer to Revelations,I. 10,

wherein

John,the Seer, states: "I

was

inthe spirit

on

the Lord's

day and heard

behind

me

a greatvoice, as of atrumpet."

The

points to be noted hereinare, first, that

John

dis-tinctly does not statethat he

heard

the great voice with his

own

physical ears

and from

a purelyphysical stand-point,

and

the entire context precludes the possibility of clairvoyant

and

clairaudient functioning, for the

com-plete recordconstitutingthe allegedRevelationis

known

as the Vision of St.

John

in the Isle of

Patmos.

Then

again the veryfact that

John

himself is stating the

cir-cumstances, incidents

and

eventsof thatVision

shows

his entireconsciousness

and

memory

of

what

transpired dur-ingthat interim

—

in otherwords, his conscioustrance.

On

the other hand, as

an

example

of unconscious trance

we

may

refer to I Cor., 14-2,

wherein

Paul tells

us that "hethatspeaketh in

an

unknown

tongue, speak-ethnot unto

men

but unto

God,

for

no

man

understand-ethhim, howbeitinthespirithe speaketh mysteries."